Employment grew in May 2008

According to the Labour Force Survey of
Statistics Finland, the number of employed persons
in May was 2 554 000, or 55 000 higher than a year
earlier. The number of wage and salary earners in continuing
full-time employment increased by 0,9 percentage points to a total
of 75,2 per cent. Employment improved most in the provinces of
Western Finland and Oulu.

In May, the employment rate , that is, the
proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at
71,3 per cent, which was 1,1 percentage points higher than one year
before. The employment rate of men was 73,4 per cent and that of
women 69,1 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation,
the trend of the employment rate was 70,7 per cent.

According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 247 000
unemployed in May 2008, i.e. 15 000 more than
in May of the year before. The annual change in unemployment is
within the survey’s margin of error.

The high number of unemployed in the Labour Force Survey in May
is due especially to the fact that students have entered the labour
market. In May 2008 over 80 per cent of the unemployed persons aged
15 to 24 were students. A good one-third of the young unemployed
were waiting for an agreed job to start and could have started to
work within two weeks. This group grew from the previous year.

At 8,8 per cent, the unemployment rate in May
was 0,3 percentage points higher than one year earlier. The trend
of the unemployment rate was 6,3 per cent in May. The unemployment
rate was lowest in the Province of Southern Finland, at 7.9 per
cent, and highest in the Province of Oulu, at 12.2 per cent. The
trend of the unemployment rate of the 15 to 24-year-olds was 15.0
per cent in May. The trend has fallen clearly during the past two
years.

According to the Labour Force Survey, the average number of
employed persons in the January to May 2008 period
was 2 495 000, which is 55 000 more than over the
corresponding period in 2007. The number of unemployed persons was
188 000, which is 15 000 fewer than in the January to May
period of 2007.

Changes in the labour force 2008/05–
2007/05, thousand persons

2008/05

2007/05

Change, %
2008/05 - 2007/05

Employed

2 554

2 499

2,2

Unemployed

247

232

6,5

Labour force

2 800

2 730

2,6

Total persons not in labour force

1 201

1 248

–3,8

Percentage points

Employment rate, %

71,3

70,2

1,1

Unemployment rate, %

8,8

8,5

0,3

Labour force participation rate, %

70,0

68,6

1,4

Unrounded figures are used in the Change
column.
The data are collected according to the ILO/EU definition.